Friday, October 29, 2010

It's that time of year again! It's time for the 3rd Annual United Way Spooktacular! I've run this race every year, and I really enjoy it! This year I'm using it as a stepping stone to the Boro Dash, which is a 4 mile race. Slowly but surely, I'm upping my distance in races. Here are some finish line shots from the past 2 years:

Saturday, October 23, 2010

Well, this morning's swim practice went really well. I'm having less and less trouble with my back, which is encouraging. The workout sets went really well. Then, the ugly truth was seen. It was our first timing session of the season. We only timed today in what we plan to swim for the November meet. I've decided to swim the 100 back and the 50 back. I timed my 100 first. I actually swam my 50 split in the 100 faster!! My 100 time ended up being 1:51.3. Not too bad for never having competed back, but bad for qualifying for Nationals. For Nationals, I need at least a 1:14.03. I need to trim 37 secs off of my time! I did only start from the wall, though. When I do my real start, I'm sure some time will come off. I think, I can't remember exactly, my time for the 50 was :51.8. That was BAD, but it was at the end of practice and I was tired and a little anxious. We'll see how much time I can drop between this week and the first of the month. I'm going to be doing a lot of speed training between now and then. I just don't want to embarrass myself at the meet!!

Thursday, October 14, 2010

This is a repost from 2004, but still appropriate:
Today is somewhat of a special, private holiday for me and many other Moody Blues fans. Today is lead vocalist and guitarist Justin Hayward's birthday. He's my VERY favorite celebrity. Such a talented songwriter and performer. My personal hero. Anyway, I'd just like to wish him a very happy day with hopefully many many more to come!

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Yesterday was agility day for me and Indiana. Unlike last week, which was cool, yesterday it was back to the good ol' summertime!! By the time we got there at 10 a.m. it was about 85 degrees. Indy worked really good for me and Mary Jo for about 40 minutes. New things he did yesterday were: the tunnel, teeter totter, table, and the A-frame. I talked with Casey, and he said since Indy was so good at it, that we are going to attempt to build me some agility equipment at home. Even our nice neighbor down the street said that we could use her fenced backyard to practice!!
After that good 40 minutes, Indy was done. It was just too hot outside. Poor thing, he kept going to Mary Jo's back door and trying to get inside. We decided to call it a day. On the way home, we stopped at Sonic for a cool slushie! It was a fun, exciting, hot day. It must have really tired him out. He made his nest on the couch and napped for the rest of the day!!

Tuesday, October 05, 2010

We had a busy weekend around the house. On Saturday morning, I had swim practice. I got really bad leg cramps and managed to pull my calf muscles. So, I spent all weekend hobbling around. As a matter of fact, it's still bothering me today! I hope it feels much better by this afternoon. I'm debating, whether I should actually attempt our practice this afternoon. It's totally weird, because I've never had this happen after leg cramps before.
Sunday afternoon was the Pet Blessing at our church. Casey and I took Molly and Indiana this year. Shingo and Jack have both been blessed in years past, and so has Fergie. About an hour before the Blessing, I took Indy out on a nice, long walk. It was slow, since my legs were really killing me, but it was enough to do the trick. Indy was very well behaved at the Blessing. In fact, he just sat through most of it. He loved meeting our members and their dogs too. Here's some shots of the event. I have video of it that I will post, as soon as I get it edited together.
My friend, Mary Jo, had invited me and Indy out for an agility demonstration yesterday morning. So, off we went. It turns out that Indy is a real natural, when it comes to agility. By the end of the session, he was going over multiple jumps at a time, over the A frame, and he even went through the tunnel once. So, we are beginning our agility lessons next Monday. Indy was so very good and did everything we asked of him. He really had a good time. He was just so conked out all afternoon. He had too much excitement over the weekend!

Friday, October 01, 2010

PLEASE JOIN US AS WE CELELBRATE
THE PET BLESSING ON ST. FRANCIS DAY
EPISCOPAL CHURCH OF THE REDEEMER
SUNDAY AFTERNOON 4:00 PM
OCTOBER 3, 2010
We hope you will join us on our "barking lot" and bring your pet(s) to be
blessed on this festive day. Each pet will receive a blessing and their
very own St. Francis Pet ID Tag and Personalized Commemorative Certificate
as free gifts from your neighborhood church. Help us celebrate this
wonderful tradition.
St. Francis is an historical figure; the son of a wealthy man, who gave up
untold riches to serve the poor and be a voice for those who were less
fortunate. St. Francis is the saint known as a lover of creation and
animals.
As we are in town near traffic, we ask that you keep your dog on a leash and
your cat or other small animal in a carrier for their own safety.
Here's some shots of the past years' Pet Blessings.